Which to use
“wildly” is an adverb and “wilds” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,154
- “wildly” frequency rank
- #33,088
- “wilds” frequency rank
- 44242
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wildly | wilds |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | In a wild, uncontrolled manner. | plural of wild |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wildly and wilds apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: wildly is anadverb and wildsanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44242, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wildly is recorded at frequency rank #11,154, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈwaɪldli/. wilds is at rank #33,088, tagged as anoun.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 44242, this pair ranks #232,423 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wildly vs wilds
Shared letters: dilw. Private to "wildly": y. Private to "wilds": s.
"wildly" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "wilds" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "wildly" and "wilds" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "wildly" or "wilds"?
Remembering wildly vs wilds
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “wildly”; for a noun, it's “wilds”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “wildly” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable